Chrystal Bones (Finding Home Book 1)

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Chrystal Bones (Finding Home Book 1) Page 19

by Billie Jo Hanlin


  “I’m fine. I can’t believe I was so stupid and forgot to shield before we left the ship.” She shook her head in disgust.

  That was one mistake she would never make again. She straightened up and took one last deep breath to center herself.

  “Let’s try this again,” she said to Jayden. Motioning him to lead the way. This time when the door opened into the station she was well shielded and able to step out into the busy place with no repercussions.

  There were shops selling everything a person could possibly want or need. On this level alone there were shops selling food, trinkets and clothing. There was an air of urgency with the humanoids rushing to and fro. The station was set up in a modified spiral configuration with no stairs and when Blue got a good look at some of the aliens she saw why the designers had designed it that way.

  It was all she could do not to gape like a green tourist as she watched an alien roll by in a wheeled contraption that encased his body leaving only his head exposed. That head was black as night and had no eyes that she could see. There was a slit in his face that she thought was his nose and it vibrated with every breath he took. When he smiled at her, at least she thought it was a smile, he exposed a double row of razor sharp teeth as he rolled past her.

  She tore her eyes from him to study her surroundings. There was clear column lit from within with several colored lights and filled with swirling smoke going straight through the center of the station. Black pipes, spaced every twelve inches, connected the column to the floor. Making a ladder from top to bottom. She could see from this side that there were three elevators, made of the same clear material as the column, taking aliens up or down floors.

  Blue was hyper vigilant as she followed Jayden. Her eyes took in as much as she could despite the fast pace he set. With his superior height, broad shoulders and the determined look on his face people scurried out of his way, giving them a clear path.

  They were passing another clothing shop when Blue heard a soft whimper. With all the noise around she knew she hadn’t heard that sound with her ears, but with her mind. Someone was scared and crying. They were also able to project that to her. She stopped and turned, looking for who had made the sound of distress. Opening the window in her mind she slowly swept the area until she found the source. She saw the bright, sunny, yellow light in her mind and followed it to a dark corner.

  Huddled on the floor was a tiny little alien girl. If she had been human Blue would have put her age at three or four. She was so little and delicate and way too young to be away from her family. When Blue walked closer the little alien huddled further into the corner and whimpered. Blue stopped and knelt down projecting soothing feelings of safety.

  “What’s wrong little girl? Are you lost?” As soon as the girl heard Blue’s magical voice her head came up. She stared as tears started flowing from her eyes.

  Blue took a few more steps towards her and when she was close enough to touch her the little alien threw herself into Blue’s arms, sobbing for all she was worth.

  “Hush baby. It is going to be okay. I promise.” It took a few minutes to calm the little one down. When she did calm down Blue asked her, “What’s your name little one?” She lifted her head from where she had buried it in Blue’s neck and started chirping so fast that the translator couldn’t keep up.

  Laughing Blue said, “Whoa, slow down.” It wasn’t long before she had the whole story. The little girl’s name was Marishkania. She and her mommy had been going back to their ship when she saw the prettiest dress. When she had turned around to ask her mommy if she could have it, mommy was not there.

  Marishkania told Blue solemnly, “Mommy gotted lost, not me.”

  Blue hid her smile, “Well, then we better find mommy before she gets really scared.”

  Marishkania nodded in enthusiasm.

  Blue shifted the girl’s slight weight to her left hip, leaving her right side and hand free to pull her gun if she needed to. Jayden was where she knew he would be, standing guard at the entrance. She had felt his irritation when he noticed she was not behind him.

  “I see you are still finding lost children,” he said when she walked towards him.

  “Marishkania is not lost. Her mommy is,” Blue told him. The girl fell silent when she saw Jayden and she shyly smiled up at him.

  Finding the little alien girl’s mother turned out to be easy. Blue removed a couple of layers of her mental shield and scanned for a light to match the girl’s at the same time she sorted through the emotions of those around her. Anger, despair, joy, hope, indifference and satisfaction along with a host of other emotions hit her from all directions. They were muted by the shield so she was able to sort through them easily enough. One big guy was filled with a vicious hate so corrosive it was eating him. She knew he was about to do something that spelled trouble for someone soon.

  She stared at him wishing she could get close enough to touch him. He was heavy set with a drooping jawline and pointed ears set near the top of his head. His hair was black and grew in a three inch strip from his forehead down the back of his thick neck where it disappeared under his shirt. The more she stared at him the more he reminded her of a Troll.

  Another Earth legend come to life. She turned away from him, promising herself she would find him again. Hopefully before he got the chance to do whatever he was planning on doing.

  Marishkania’s mother was in a total panic. Blue could feel that panic and fear coming from the next level up. She knew it was the mother because no one ever had that level of panic over anything but a missing child. Blue had felt it too many times over the years in her work to mistake it for anything else.

  She told Jayden,“We need to go up a floor.” She walked quickly to her destination. The slight weight of the little girl barely registering.

  When she was on the next level, she walked around looking for the source of the panic. She found it standing outside of the security office. The mother was an adult version of the little girl. Same delicate features and bird like build. She was waving her hands all over the place as she talked rapidly to the officer. At her side stood a stoney faced man Blue assumed was the father and Marishkania’s shouted, “Daddy!” said she had guessed right.

  The man’s head whipped around at the sound of his daughter’s voice and seeing her in Blue’s arms with Jayden standing at her side, he couldn’t hide his surprise. Both he and the mother walked quickly to them. They were closely followed by several of the station’s security officers.

  Blue felt and saw Jayden go on full alert. When he placed his hand on his weapon ready to pull it and shoot at a moments notice. She knew something was wrong. She slowly lowered Marishkania to the floor and stepped back to stand at Jayden’s side.

  She too went on high alert. Not that she hadn’t been anyway. She didn’t know what it was about this man that made Jayden’s hackles go up but she would back him up if he needed it. She opened the window in her mind and concentrated on reading everything she could from the girl’s father. He was just as wary and prepared for trouble. For some reason he was worried, really worried about Jayden.

  Marishkania was pulling her mother over to Blue, babbling a mile a minute. When they reached her the woman said, “I cannot thank you enough for finding my little girl.”

  For such a tiny thing she was fast and had Blue in a hard hug before she could avoid it. Sheese, what was it with people aways wanting to hug her just because she found their kid. She could only be grateful that her chrystal hadn’t chosen that moment to activate and shoot the woman across the room. Yeah that wouldn’t have made things worse or anything, she thought sarcastically untangling herself from the woman.

  The man had caught up with his family and stood stiffly in front of them. He gave a curt nod to Jayden before saying, “Haldairian.”

  “Oranie,” Jayden replied.

  Okay, Blue thought when nothing else was said. Mother and child caught on to the tension between the men and fell silent.

  Tim
e to do something before this got out of hand. She stepped between the two men and held her hand out to the girl’s father, “Hi, Marishkania was afraid her mother had gotten lost. I am glad to see that wasn’t the case.”

  He looked at her then at her outstretched hand before slowly grasping it in his. He didn’t shake it like she was used to. Instead he held it gently between his hands, giving her the chance to read his thoughts.

  He knew who Jayden was and was worried that there would be trouble because his business was on the illegal side. He was well aware that Jayden knew who he was. He was very grateful that his daughter had been found but wished she had been found by someone other than them. He was also intensely curious about who she was.

  Blue kept her face impassive as the thoughts raced through his mind into hers. He was intelligent, ruthless and fully prepared to fight his way off the station. He had half a dozen men ready, able and willing to open fire, creating a panic among the others on the station to cover his wife and daughter’s retreat. That was the most important thing to him at this moment. Getting them to safety.

  Blue pulled her hand from his, breaking the contact so she couldn’t hear his thoughts. He was almost as good as Jayden was at hiding his emotions. All she could feel from him now was a mild concern. Marishkania and her mother on the other hand broadcast everything they felt.

  She missed Riley more than ever right now. She was better at diffusing these kind of tense situations than Blue was. Normally Blue didn’t even try. She just walked away. unfortunately she couldn’t do that here.

  “Well, we will be on our way now. I was happy to be able to help Marishkania find her mom,” kind of curt but it was the best she could do right now. She knelt down and told the little girl, “Don’t lose your mom again.”

  “I will not. I will make sure to hold on to her tight,” the girl assured Blue.

  She wrapped her arms around Blue’s neck and whispered, “Thank you for finding my mommy.”

  “You’re welcome sweetie,” Blue gave her a squeeze and gently pushed her towards her mom. She put her hand on Jayden’s arm and said, “Let’s go.” With visible reluctance he allowed her to pull him around. They walked off leaving the reunited family staring after them.

  “Wait,” a voice called after them. Blue stopped and said, “Don’t do anything stupid. He has six bodyguards ready and willing to start shooting.”

  “I know about the guards,” Jayden told her. There was no time to say anything else before Marishkania’s father caught up to them.

  “I did not properly thank you for returning my daughter to me.”

  Jayden interrupted him, “I did not find her so no need to thank me.” He gestured to Blue. “She is the one you owe your thanks to.”

  The man looked at Blue, “May I know your name so I can thank you properly?”

  Blue was taken aback by his formality. “My name is Blue Parker,” she gave the surname she had used for the last ten years. “There is no need to thank me. I would have done it for any child.” Unable to resist she added, “She is a beautiful, trusting little girl. You need to keep a closer eye on her or hire better guards. The next time might not turn out so well.”

  His face darkened with anger. Not at her but at the guards who were supposed to be watching the girl and her mother. They would be looking for new jobs very soon. Assuming they survived the night.

  She heard Jayden say telepathically, “Blue be careful. You do not want to make this guy an enemy.”

  “It’s fine. He is not mad at me,” she sent back, knowing he could not sense what she did.

  “You are entirely correct. I am Pasha Daeco of Oran. I am forever in your debt for returning Marishkania to me. If there is a time I can be of service to you all you need to do is ask. My agents aboard the station will know how to contact me. I will make your name known to them Blue Parker.” He pulled an ornate ring off of his little finger and held it out to her, “Please accept this as a token of my gratitude.”

  “That is not necessary,” Blue started to refuse but stopped when he raised his hand.

  “I am aware that you did not know who’s child you were saving. That fact does not erase the debt owed you.”

  Once again she heard Jayden in her mind, “Take it. It is a matter of honor for him. It would insult him greatly for you to refuse it.”

  She looked at Pasha before bowing her head to him and taking the ring. “Thank you. If I require your assistance I will ask,” she said with the same formality he had offered.

  She had no intention of ever asking but if it would get her out of this situation she would say what he needed to hear to satisfy his honor. He returned her bow before striding back to his waiting family. The six bodyguards she spotted fell into place surrounding the small family. Before they disappeared into the crowd she saw Pasha swing Marishkania up into the air, her giggles filled with innocent joy.

  Blue felt Jayden’s eyes on her. She turned to find that his expression matched the strange array of worry and disbelief coming from him.

  “What’s wrong now? I said what you wanted me to.”

  “You have no idea what just happened do you?”

  “Yes I do. I found his daughter and he was grateful. Considering the fact that she wasn’t in any real danger and couldn’t have been missing for more than an hour he went a little overboard on the thanks but he will probably forget all about it in a week.”

  “No I promise you he will not forget about it. He meant every word he said. You could ask him for your own planet and he would get it for you. The Oranie are very big on honor.”

  All Blue could think to say was, “Wow.”

  “You are on the station for less than an hour and you have one of the wealthiest, most powerful men outside of the Alliance in your debt. You are a magnet for trouble.” Jayden chuckled, “Just wait until your brother hears about this.”

  “Why would he care?” she asked.

  His chuckle turned to laughter, “Because Princess, Idris has been trying to prove Daeco is behind the smuggling of chrystals from Shilliidon along with other black market items from Alliance worlds.”

  “Oh,” she would have to think about that later. “What am I supposed to do with this?” She held out the ring.

  Jayden shrugged, “Keep it. It is worth about three million credits.”

  This time Blue’s jaw dropped. In her studies aboard the Trilleion she had learned to convert dollars to credits. Three million credits equaled roughly four and a half million Earth dollars.

  She looked down at the fancy ring. She couldn’t imagine wearing it. She started to shove it in her pocket when Jayden stopped her.

  “Put it on,” he urged.

  Puzzled by the request she slid the ring onto her middle finger and watched in disbelief when the ring started to change before her eyes. It shrunk to fit her finger and turned from an ornate, flashy ring to a simple band covered in delicate scrollwork. She didn’t wear jewelry as a rule. She had always considered the chrystal imbedded in her throat enough jewels for anyone. But this was beautiful and suited her simple taste.

  Jayden smiled, “That is why it is so expensive. The material is very rare and conforms to the wearer’s personality. No one but you can remove from it your finger once you put it on. It also only works its magic if it is given freely to you.”

  Chrystal Bones Billie Jo Hanlin

  Chapter 25

  The lower level of Farpoint was a completely different world than the upper levels. It was a little dingy and the people looked rough around the edges. While she kept a wary eye on the people around her Blue saw a fight breakout between two alien species. She thought one of them was a female but couldn’t be sure.

  When someone brushed against her she reached out and grabbed the hand that had snaked in to pick her pocket. With a quick twist and jerk she had the pick pocket on his knees and his arm pinned behind his back.

  “Bad move asshole. Now you’re out of business until your shoulder heals,” she whispered
in his ear then pushed his arm up higher popping it out of joint and giving him a shove. The incident took all of five seconds. She didn’t wait for the greasy man to hit the wall before she resumed following Jayden. Suddenly feeling a whole lot more chipper.

  The sign above the door said, ‘Z’s,’ that was it. One look inside and you knew it was a place to get drunk, gamble and eat, if the delicious smells were any indication.

  There was a raised stage where a bored looking woman danced listlessly to music. Blue didn’t think she was getting many tips from the men sitting at the stage which could explain why she was not putting much effort into her dance. Blue thought if she put more effort into it then the tips would probably be better.

  On the other side of the room several tables were set up for card and dice games, along with a couple of games she couldn’t even guess about. The bar was busy but would get busier during third shift.

  Because there was no sun to revolve around, the station ran on three ten hour shifts. First shift was the quietest. That being the time when most station personnel chose to sleep. Second shift was when most of the daily business was taken care of. All of the shops were open and the station bustled with activity. Third shift was when the entertainment levels were the busiest.

  People had taken care of what they needed to take care of for the day and were ready to relax and have fun. The control tower, security and maintenance departments were open for all three shifts.

  They had barely walked in the door of the bar when a beautiful statuesque woman with short bright green hair called to Jayden from across the room. Blue watched her walk towards them.

  No, not walk, walk was too pedestrian a word for what she was doing. The woman glided, smooth as silk and just as sensuous. She was dressed in a diaphanous robe tied under impressive breasts that overflowed the tiny bra she wore. It matched the equally tiny panties. The outfit was designed to bring attention to her perfect figure and it worked. The bar patrons moved out of her way giving her a clear path to Jayden.

 

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